Valley man pleads no contest to biting off man's finger

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Valley man who police say was high on meth when he bit off a man's finger has reached a plea deal with prosecutors.

Scotty Blair stood to serve nine years in prison. But on Thursday, he pleaded no contest and agreed to a deal that will give him a maximum of five years.

Blair had no criminal history and a background with mental health issues. Although he wasn't determined to be insane, both sides felt a compromise was appropriate.

Blair was hesitant at first Thursday about accepting a deal that would expose him to a maximum of five years and four months in prison. But in the end, he took the plea bargain for a crime that family members and his attorney say he only sporadically remembers.

"Up to now, he wasn't aware of what he really did on that day. That's part of what happens when you have the mixture of the mental health issues and when you combine them with the use of narcotics," said Roberto Dulce, Blair's attorney.

In May of 2013, Fresno police say Blair went on a bizarre rampage through a Northwest Fresno neighborhood biting fences and trashing the area. According to court testimony, he busted out the window of a home and confronted an innocent victim in his hallway. During the preliminary hearing, the victim described what happened when he tried to get Blair to leave.

"He was grabbing my fist and pulled my right hand up to his mouth, and he sunk his teeth into the middle finger of my right hand," the victim said.

Prosecutors say the worst part about this crime are the injuries the victim has to live with and see every day.

"They could not replace the part of the finger that was bit off, so he has that reminder with him every day," said Deputy District Attorney Dennis Lewis. "And he has a job where there's typing involved and the problem with that is it reminds him every day of what the defendant did to him. It's horrible."

Even though Blair's attorney is prepared for his client to receive the five-year sentence, it will be up to the judge to make the final determination in September.